Hamilton woman sentenced to four years for shooting death of tenant

HAMILTON – A township woman was sentenced to four years in prison today for shooting a tenant who was living in her home.

Shelley Kraft, 62, previously admitted to killing 29-year-old Christopher Kimble in March 2010. Kimble was found on the bedroom floor in their Julia Avenue home with a bullet wound to the chest.

Kraft entered into a plea agreement with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office in June. She will have to serve 85 percent, or three years and four months, of her sentence before she is eligible for parole.

Kimble’s parents attended the hearing and spoke about the pain and loss they have felt in the years since their son died.

“When your child is murdered there is never closure,” Sharon Kimble said. “Our hearts have been forever shattered and replaced with a deep pain that never goes away.”

Police were called to Kraft’s home just after 8:30 a.m. the day of the shooting after she called 911, telling dispatchers she had shot an intruder. After some investigation police learned that the man who Kraft said she was defending herself against was living there.

Kraft was initially charged with first-degree murder, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless manslaughter as part of the plea agreement.

A few hours before she was sentenced today, Kraft was arrested for driving under the influence. She told Judge Thomas Brown that she took two different prescription pain medications this morning before driving.

“I didn’t realize the effect,” Kraft said. “It surprised me when I realized that I started feeling very sleepy. I was weaving on the road.”

Brown determined that Kraft was in a stable mental state and understood what was going on in the courtroom so that he could proceed with sentencing her.